With Sony already having a 100MP sensor, and Nikon saying one is in the works, doesn't Canon bascially have to have one, too?
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I'm pretty sure Canon KNOWS large-sensor and low-light sensor imaging like the back of their hand!
Canon already has manufactured and tested HUUUUUGE image sensors such as those noted below:
a) 120 megapixel APS-H 29 mm by 20 mm Sensor at
See links at:
http://www.canon.com/technology/future/cmos.html
Canon building 120 megapixel DSLR:
https://petapixel.com/2015/09/08/canon-were-building-a-120-megapixel-dslr/
b) 250 megapixel sensor at 29.2×20.2mm. APS-H format at 19,580 by 12,600 pixels:
https://petapixel.com/2015/09/07/canon-unveils-a-monster-250-megapixel-sensor/
c) 448 megapixel sensor 202 mm by 205 mm at around 25,700 x 17,400 pixels which was made for spy satellites.
See link at:
https://www.dpreview.com/articles/7964414898/canonlargestsensor
Original Press Release:
TOKYO, August 31, 2010—Canon Inc. announced today that it has successfully developed the world's largest*1 CMOS image sensor, with a chip size measuring 202 x 205 mm. Because its expanded size enables greater light-gathering capability, the sensor is capable of capturing images in one one-hundredth the amount of light required by a professional-model digital SLR camera.
At 202 x 205 mm, the newly developed CMOS sensor is among the largest chips that can be produced from a 12-inch (300 mm) wafer, and is approximately 40 times the size of Canon's largest commercial CMOS sensor.*2
In the past, enlarging the size of the sensor resulted in an increase in the amount of time required between the receiving and transmission of data signals, which posed a challenge to achieving high-speed readout. Canon, however, solved this problem through an innovative circuit design, making possible the realization of a massive video-compatible CMOS sensor. Additionally, by ensuring the cleanest of cleanroom environments during the production process, the sensor minimizes image imperfections and dust.
Because the increased size of the new CMOS sensor allows more light to be gathered, it enables shooting in low-light environments. The sensor makes possible the image capture in one one-hundredth the amount of light required by a 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor, facilitating the shooting of 60 frame-per-second video with a mere 0.3 lux of illumination.*3
Potential applications for the new high-sensitivity CMOS sensor include the video recording of stars in the night sky and nocturnal animal behavior.
Through the further development of distinctive CMOS image sensors, Canon will break new ground in the world of new image expression, in the area of still images as well as video.
*1 As of August 27, 2010. Based on a Canon study.
*2 The approximately 21.1 megapixel 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor employed in the company's EOS-1Ds Mark III and EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR cameras.
*3 Approximately one-half the brightness of a moonlit night.
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That 448 megapixel sensor announcement was QUICKLY REMOVED from Google, Bing and DuckDuck Go and the Canon website once the U.S. CIA, NSA and NRO got wind of that! Good thing I saved the original news announcements and still have them! It's probably now on the successor Wide-Field-of-View spy satellites operated by the NRO (National Reconnaissance Office) spy imaging agency in the USA! At a photosite size of ABOUT 7.6 to 7.8 microns in size this will DEFINITELY OUTPERFROM the canon 1DxMk2 in low-light imaging -- which is ALREADY GOOD !!! If they keep THIS 202 x 205 mm sensor at 100 megapixels (10,000 by 10,000 pixels) then photosite size would be on the order of 20.2 microns which would be an UTTERLY MIDNIGHT TURNED INTO DAYLIGHT type of image sensor sensitivity! It would COMPLETELY BLOW AWAY the Sony A7s2!
For more information, do web searches on
"A 300mm Wafer Size CMOS Image Sensor for Low-Light-Level Imaging”
By
Hidekazu Takahashi, et al
from Canon's Imaging Research and Development division and
one of the scientists who basically invented this large-sensor gear!